“So, What’s going on in Athens? How can my people earn money and just what is the Politics of Athens?” I asked Kassandra the next day. She had changed into a Chiton and a Himation along with some Sandals. More practical for a Captain. Kassandra perked up, “Well, Your Highness, Athens is a Kingdom. The current king is Aegeus II, A descendant of Theseus. The two Major Factions here are The Sons and followers of Athena, Pallasades, and The Sons and followers of Poseidon, Thallassoi. The Leader of the Athenian faction is Diocles. The Leader of the Poseidunal faction is Pontos.”

I nodded at her. “Well, what about earning Drachmas?” Kassandra pondered and then replied, “You could swear fealty to Diocles or Pontos. Serve as a Mercenary clan of sorts.” The option was good, but I pressed her more. She replied, “You could also sail the Aegean seas in hopes of capturing pirates, or you could serve the Kings’ Navy.”

These were good options, but I grimaced still. I was at the Crossroads, as Hecate, The Immortal of Magic and Crossroads always said. I could either serve two out of three men, one out of three men, capture and sell pirate folks, or just go back to Liares and refuse to sacrifice ANOTHER white cow, Which I prefer I don’t do. I sighed and said, “Pontos, out the door. Too much hatred for Poseidon. Aegeus II is also out the door; I don’t want to be tied to another king. Pirates are rare and few in the Saronic Gulf, So the only option? Diocles. Kassandra, What is Diocles like?” Kassandra yawned and said sarcastically, “He is an Idiot. OF COURSE, he is clever and wise! A man of Reason! He is a Son of Athena, after all.” I nodded. I looked at Haithus, My gruff but loyal Admiral. “Ready The Hoplites,” I said, “We are going to join the Immortal of Wisdom’s ranks.

At about four pm that day, according to the Clepsydras, we left the docks. We were waking up the Northern Wall to go to Agora. Where The Aristoi Diocles lived. We saw the temple and statue of Theseus, A son of Poseidon. He was a cool dude, except for what he did in his old age and what he did to Ariadne. Not too bad, I suppose. After pondering random thoughts for a while, We reached the House of Diocles.

At first, he seemed confused about why 430 Hoplites, An Admiral, A King, and a random pretty lady arrived at his doorstep. He was in his 20’s, I supposed. Not too much older than me. I was 24. He then gathered his wits and spoke gently, “Well, Soter. I would love to have you under my charge, but I need some confirmation of your Fleet’s prowess. There is a Bandit Camp a few miles away from the Eirai Gate, kill them and you’ll gain employment.” Employment seemed good to me, especially for such a reasonable man. I nodded, drank a cup of wine with him, and we Marched to the location Diocles gave me.

We passed the Eirai Gate soon enough. Just before we left Athens, I gathered My main men. Haithus, Kassandra, and two others, who were twins. They were Alexios and Kyros, Quick, Clever, Intelligent mischief makers who caused me great depression once when we were fishing, by hurling a Koi the size of Hercules at me. But they are good men. I said, “Haithus, You take 100 Hoplites, Kassandra, You take 130 Archers, Alexios and Kyros, you each take 70 Hoplites. I’ll take 60 Hoplites to Flank them from the North while Haithus and you guys’ attack from the South. Understood?”

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Haithus, his weathered face devoid of emotion, simply grunted his assent. Kassandra, a wry smile playing on her lips, ran a hand over the quiver strapped to her back. The twins, Alexios and Kyros, exchanged a quick, confident glance before nodding in unison.

We took our positions a mile away from the bandit camp. The plains were very green and vast, with good visibility but no chance for a surprise attack on them. They had walls around their camp. They had only two gates, one at the North End and one at the South End. Haithus made a Phalanx in front of Kassandra’s archers. Alexios and Kyros Protected the flanks. I, meanwhile, circled to the North and took my position behind a hill. I and my guys were to surprise flank them. I counted about 200 heads in the camp, some probably in their barracks. My estimation was 250.

A warhorn blew out, and I heard a distant, gruff, and harsh “Charge!” by Haithus followed by hundreds of swords being banged against their shields. A veritable cloud of Arrows was nocked and unleashed, killing about 40 Bandits. The bandits were alerted, and they quickly ran the bulk of their forces to the South end of their walls, leaving the North end virtually defenseless, except for 5-10 archers. After a few minutes, I yelled “Charge! Sons of Liares! Show these Attican scum the might of Liaresian Bronze!” and off we went, charging.

We had previously made makeshift ladders to scale the walls, so we planted them against the wall while the bandit archers helplessly looked on, unsure of what to do. After I reached the wall, I stuck one of the fools down with a clean slash to the abdomen. Similar incidents occurred across the North wall. We then charged the bandits on the South wall. The turning point came when twenty of my guys, led by a hulking warrior with a Liares Banner, managed to break open the southern gate. Haithus' forces poured through, their arrival tipping the scales in their favor. Within a brutal thirty minutes, the battle was over. I struck down at least 20 Bandits.

I inspected the living Bandits we rounded up. There were 40 alive. My estimates were correct, 210 Bandit Corpses littered the ground. The Northern Wall was littered with Arrows sticking out, from the wall or men, Kassandra and her archers did not discriminate. She was kind that way. We lost 13 men, but that was due to stray arrows. We burned their bodies in a Funeral Pyre, drachmas under their tongue. The biggest and oldest of them was the leader, naturally. The Bandit Lord’s name was Eurysus, according to himself. If looks could kill, I wouldn’t be dead. Because the dude was blindfolded. But I suppose it was a good try. We also freed some of Diocles’s men, who agreed to join our ranks. So, we gained 20 Hoplites. Alexios and Kyros, along with some Hoplites, Pillaged the camp of Valuables. We put all the Weapons, armor, and Valuables we could find in a chest, and we set off to Athens, with 40 prisoners and a chest load of Loot.

A man would think that that was enough fun for a day, right? WELL, YOU ARE WRONG! On our way back to the Eirai Gate and to Diocles, We met his Rival, The one and most foul Pontos! You would think that being a Son of Poseidon, you would have top-notch Hygiene. Well No. Because the Person glaring at me from atop a horse is neither young, fashionable, nor Healthy. Meet Pontos! The Mortal of Bad Odor!”